Mumbai: The SENSEX opened firm and later rallied smartly in line with a fresh stocks rally during morning trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on May 16 on consistent buying by institutional investors.

The BSE Benchmark 30-share Index opened remarkably up at 3019.48 as against the May 15 close of 3012.97 and later firmed up to a high of 3037.09 before being quoted at 3033.94 at 10:30 hours (IST).

Attributing the all-round rally in shares to fresh purchases by domestic financial institutions and operators, brokers said foreign institutional investors (FIIs), which have slowed down activity, too were selective buyers. FIIs seemed to be changing their portfolios since the past couple of weeks, they added.

Banking and PSU sectors continued to be in the limelight with investors showing keen interest in Bank and PSU shares at the prevailing price levels.

Key counters like BHEL, HPCL, SBI, MTNL, Grasim Ind, Infosys Tech, ITC, Telco and Zee Telefilms were quoted sharply higher on fresh buying support.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite Index on May 15 rose by 50 points and 11 points respectively.

PTI